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Call for female leaders on International Women's Day

On a day when women across the world call for greater equality, Federal Liberal MP Sharman Stone says her party needs mandatory female quotas to help boost the number of women in Parliament. Nine News.

More women are needed in Parliament and in senior business positions to help improve working conditions for women and reduce domestic violence, the sex discrimination commissioner says.

Speaking on International Women's Day on Saturday, Elizabeth Broderick said progress had been made on a number of fronts including the paid parental leave scheme but men still held the bulk of power.

She told ABC Radio that 93 per cent of the CEOs of Australian corporates were still male and about a third of parliamentarians were women.

Call for more women in Parliament: Elizabeth Broderick. Photo: James Alcock

"It's important that women's voices are heard at the highest levels because that has a direct impact on issues such as domestic violence, it has an impact on the conditions of work for women in organisations and their role in leadership."

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To mark International Women's Day a rally has been organised in central Sydney to call for reproductive rights and equal pay.

The rally will protest against NSW's controversial "Zoe's law" which organisers say will open the door to women being prosecuted for smoking or drinking during pregnancy.

The legislative changes before the state's upper house would make it a criminal offence to destroy or harm a foetus after it reaches 20 weeks or 400 grams.

Meanwhile, Victorian Liberal backbencher Sharman Stone has told the ABC that her colleagues should look to Labor for ideas about how to get more women into politics.